I’ll Retire After Saving the World

Chapter 43: Master and Disciple (3)

It couldn’t be more peaceful.

Why is it so peaceful?

The world is going to end in twenty years.

Is it really okay for things to be this peaceful?

“Hmm? Ark? That Hunter is investigating it.”

When asked about Ark, all I get is that Lee Mi-seon is investigating it.

“More importantly, how are the kids doing? Not much time left until dungeon entry, right?”

“I’m just the homeroom teacher for the magic class, remember.”

“And?”

“The other kids aren’t my responsibility. Didn’t we agree on that?”

“Tsk tsk. How can you be so cold-hearted? As a teacher, you should take care of them all.”

That’s why I check on them once in a while. I really don’t know what more you want from me…

If they’re going to work me like this, you should at least raise my salary.

“Besides, isn’t Teacher Woo free right now? Even the rune classes have stopped because of dungeon entry preparations…”

“That’s because of the dungeon entry preparation.”

“Anyway, Seo-hyun is teaching magic anyway.”

Not Kim Chae-min, but Park Seo-hyun’s name comes up.

Well, it’s not wrong, but saying it like that makes my position a bit weird.

“It’s not like I’m not looking after the kids, though?”

…Saying it like this makes it seem like I’m clinging to my position as the homeroom teacher of the magic class. I’m not at all.

Damn.

“Oh reaally?”

Hong Seok-young smirks. How did I end up like this? I still can’t figure it out.

“Anyway, I’ll leave the kids to you, Teacher Woo.”

“…”

Anyway, everything flowed peacefully.

The kids were working hard, and Hong Seok-young and Lee Mi-seon seemed to be doing something about Ark. In the original timeline, nothing much happened at this time. There wasn’t even a dungeon break. Even if one did occur occasionally, it was suppressed without any damage.

So why do I feel so uneasy?

There’s a saying in the Hunter community that a Hunter’s intuition is trash. It’s an old saying meant to mock Hunters who become complacent by over-relying on their intuition.

Hunters with heightened senses receive more information than others. Thus, there is information they instinctively realize without thinking. It’s not wrong; such instincts can save lives in life-and-death battles.

But if you blindly trust that and ignore the information in front of you… That’s how entire raid teams get wiped out.

That’s why they say a hunter’s intuition can’t be trusted. I agree with that too.

But still, isn’t it strange to feel uneasy for days on end? There should be a limit.

So I pondered what the cause could be.

“…”

Is it because there’s nothing to do?

“…”

Nah. That can’t be it.

Who else manages work-life balance as well as I do? Sure, I’ve accumulated some vacation days, but doesn’t everyone do that? When you’re working, you tend to forget about using vacation days…

…Isn’t it?

…But, it’s boring not doing what I usually do. And spending all this time on just one C-rank dungeon raid seems like a waste of time.

Wouldn’t it be okay to continue the rune classes? To help the kids review their runes…

“Ah! Ah, ah ah! I did it! I really did it, right?!”

There’s a commotion outside. Choi Jin-woo is shouting loudly.

Curious, I stepped out of the container used as the teachers’ office.

“Teacher! Look at this!”

As soon as Choi Jin-woo saw me, he waved his arms wildly. The last time I saw him this excited was when he cried after hearing Park Seo-hyun’s story.

“Why are you… hmm?”

“What do you think?”

I thought I wondered what the reason was, but I could tell surprisingly easily.

The playground was filled with fog. No, it wasn’t fog, it was concentrated in specific areas. Close to the ground. It didn’t reach beyond the knees. It was a white fog, billowing like dry ice.

I squinted. Under the sunlight, it was hard to see, but the fog was sparkling.

“You see it, right?!”

Choi Jin-woo wasn’t the only one excited. Park Seo-hyun was also smiling with a flushed face. She didn’t have that gloomy look with her bangs down, nor did she seem as prickly as when I saw her in Myeong-dong. Looking at her now, she seemed like an ordinary child you could see anywhere.

I was worried, but it seemed she was getting along well with Choi Jin-woo. Please, grow up just like this, for the love of God.

“It’s Grandpa’s magic!”

“…Unique magic?”

Is Choi Jin-woo that much of a genius?

“No, it’s not that.”

My eyes weren’t deceiving me.

“It’s one of the spells grandfather often used. He taught me it’s a magic that illuminates dark places, and it’s good for avoiding traps because it also reveals hidden things.”

“That’s a useful magic.”

“Right?”

Park Seo-hyun beamed. It was hard to tell if she was happy that her grandfather’s magic was praised or if she’s happy that Choi Jin-woo succeeded in casting her grandfather’s magic.

Maybe it was both.

Hong Seok-young also came out to give a word of praise to Park Seo-hyun and Choi Jin-woo before heading back inside.

Hong Seok-young had completely entrusted the dungeon raid preparations to me. Although this was supposed to be a test for the kids, I suspected it was also a test for me. Maybe I had shown too much of what I knew about dungeons.

But then again, claiming ignorance when I knew something would hurt my pride. Besides, it was obvious that the old man was weak in this field, so it wouldn’t be right to entrust the kids to him. If I left the raid lessons to Hong Seok-young, he’d probably just spout weird onomatopoeias.

‘Here, you go boom,, and then when it goes kaboom at this point…!’

I managed to follow his classes because of my experience… But what on earth did the students of Pilot High or Hunter Academy learn from his classes?

I briefly stroked my chin.

While they might not have learned much from the classes, a talented individual who grew up well on their own was right in front of me. If I threw in some plausible words, wouldn’t they attribute their progress to me?

“Park Seo-hyun.”

“Yes?”

“How’s the mana analysis going?”

Park Seo-hyun, who had been chattering away with Choi Jin-woo, shut her mouth like a clam. Look at this kid.

“The analysis?”

“I-I’m doing it, but….”

Park Seo-hyun’s shoulders gradually slumped.

“Didn’t Teacher Kim teach you the method?”

“Yes, but… I don’t really understand… My mana is too different from the mana Grandpa explained….”

Despite having such different mana, Park Seo-hyun was clumsily mimicking light magic.

“Don’t think about it too complexly.”

I didn’t know what process that witch went through to become the Archmage of Shadows.

But I had a few Archmage acquaintances. Some of them had disciples, and I had picked up a few things they said to their disciples during visits.

“Like you said, it’s your mana. You’re the one who knows it best.”

“……”

“I mean it, don’t think too complicatedly. Instead of getting stuck on the fact that it’s light and shadow, think of it in terms of attributes. You handle basic magic well, don’t you?”

“But it’s different from basic magic….”

“The fact that it’s magic using mana is the same. There’s a basic magic spell to light a flame, right?”

Park Seo-hyun looked at me doubtfully but then nodded. I gently dug at the dirt with my toe. When a small pit formed, I grabbed an abandoned drink from nearby and poured it in, creating a small puddle.

“Boil it.”

“What?”

“Raise the temperature. Boil the water. It’s easy, right?”

Park Seo-hyun hesitated before starting to draw the formula. Soon, the puddle began to boil.

“Stop.”

“Uh….”

“Now cool it down.”

“……”

“Make it cold.”

Park Seo-hyun drew another formula. The bubbling puddle soon calmed.

“Keep going.”

“……”

“More.”

The puddle started to ripple. Then it began to freeze over, forming a white layer on the surface.

“Stop. Do you get it?”

“……”

She clearly doesn’t get it. I sighed.

“Heat and cold. If you classify these attributes, they become fire and ice, which is water. Completely opposite attributes. But how about the formulas?”

“The form-formulas…”

Park Seo-hyun looked at her hands, which had just been casting the formula, with a dumbfounded expression.

“Not all magic is like this, but sometimes reversing a formula can produce the exact opposite effect. I’m not a mage, so I don’t know much more than that…”

I shrugged my shoulders.

“Think about how you were able to use light magic, which has the opposite attribute.”

Because you’re a genius. A genius.

“Your grandpa’s light magic must have some similarity to your mana.”

“……”

“Start by reversing the formulas. Who knows? You might hit upon something.”

Park Seo-hyun’s expression darkened. She bit her lip and hung her head. Her hair, which she had tucked behind her ears, fell forward like a curtain.

I quickly averted my eyes. It’s not good for my heart.

“Alright, the rest is self-study. If you’re not sure, ask Teacher Kim.”

“…Teacher.”

Park Seo-hyun spoke quietly without lifting her head.

“Tea, teacher, can I, ask you, instead?”

What is this kid talking about?

I tapped her forehead with my index finger.

Applying a bit of force to my finger, I pushed her forehead until she raised her head willingly. Her wide eyes looked far from being a witch. Good. I need to block the path to becoming a witch completely.

But that’s that, and this is this.

“I told you, I don’t know much because I’m not a mage.”

* * *

Originally, there were ten students in the first class of Pilot High School.

So there were ten desks in the classroom. Of course, now two of them were empty.

I often wonder. Even now, the classroom container doesn’t feel full, but what was it like in the original timeline when there were even fewer students?

Wouldn’t it have been suffocating?

If it were me, I would’ve quit school.

There might have actually been kids who quit. There’s barely any record of the first class students of Pilot High School… Considering that, Oh Hyun-wook and Park Seo-hyun, who managed to stick it out and became top Hunters, might be extraordinary.

Well, anyway, there are no students who quit due to such unfortunate events now. It was said that after the Myeong-dong incident, parents forcibly withdrew their kids out of anxiety.

Hmm.

Hong Seok-young put those two students on leave. Since it’s not a proper school, it was possible.

Speaking of which…

“Yoo Hye-eun.”

“…Yes?”

Yoo Hye-eun, who had been struggling to twist her mana in her hands, looked up. As a result, her mana scattered.

“Ah!”

“Lack of concentration.”

“Teacher, you…!”

“A Hunter should maintain concentration in any situation.”

“I’m not a Hunter…”

“…Ah, right.”

Healers are also Awakened, but they can’t be called combatants. They usually work in hospitals rather than entering dungeons.

…Come to think of it, wouldn’t it be okay if she’s not here? Even in this chaotic era, healers are welcomed everywhere.

No, wait. These kids don’t have proper guardians. If someone like Seo Han-seong catches them, they can’t escape on their own. It’s right to think Hong Seok-young is protecting them.

Even though they all died in the end.

I smiled at Yoo Hye-eun.

Let’s focus on what’s in front of us. This kid is alive right now. That’s enough. Little Yoo Ji-eun won’t grow up to be a depressed high school girl.

“It’s the same anyway. Do it again.”

“Ugh…”

Yoo Hye-eun pouted her lips and focused on moving her fingers. The white mana blooming at her fingertips wove together like she was playing cat’s cradle. Every time she concentrated, she stuck out her lips, exactly like that woman.

I recalled what I initially wanted to ask.

“How’s your younger sister doing?”

“Ji-eun?”

Yoo Hye-eun’s hands, which had been weaving mana, paused.

“I heard she went with the principal to register as an Awakened.”

“Ah, really, Yoo Ji-eun, even though she’s my sister, but…”

“Why?”

“Ugh, don’t get me started.”

Yoo Hye-eun unraveled her mana and shook her head vigorously.

“She’s constantly picking up strange ideas from who knows where… Just this morning, I had to stop her from trying to stick her feet in ice.”

“Hmm?”

“She says keeping her feet cold is good for mana circulation or whatever… She’s really doing all sorts of weird things.”

“……”

Could this be why I’ve been feeling uneasy these past few days?

“Has she mentioned anything about purging impurities from her blood vessels?”

“She said that method’s outdated, so she’s looking for other ways. Yesterday, she was chewing on lettuce, saying she needed to clean her stomach…”

To Yoo Hye-eun, it seemed like the foolish antics of her clueless sister… But what if she suddenly decides to join some cultish training center? With Yoo Ji-eun’s known impulsiveness, it’s possible. Even the little Yoo Ji-eun came running to me spouting nonsense about wanting to be my disciple.

If this goes wrong, I could lose a future raid asset right under my nose.

Damn it. Do I really have to worry about things like this? What the hell is the principal doing?